Children

So, this week a family living norht of me in a very small town was so happy, as the news reported, that their 6 year-old son was returned to them. He was playing in the yard, and got lost. I don't remember exactly how far away from home he was, but it was over a mile. This is bad enough that a child that young would be so unattended as to wander that far, but this child was autistic as well! Where were his parents that he could wander far enough away that they would be unable to find him by the time they noticed he was gone?!? Is there no responsibility left in people anymore? Should I feel sorry for these people for an instant because they "lost" their child? I do not. I do not in the least. A 6-year-old is not responsible enough to be left unattended for periods of time when they are a healthy, "normal" child, let alone when they have an affliction such as autism. I personally think that this child should be taken away from this couple. They stated, on the local news, that this is not the first time he has wandered away. What are they thinking?!? I am thinking, of course, of the child's safety first. But, here's a scenario... Let's say I am driving down the road at a prudent speed -- but suddenly, here comes a 6-year-dol chasing abutterfly or whatever, out of the woods (the woods and brush here can be very close to the road), and I run over this small child. It could not have been avoided, but how am I going to feel for the rest of my life?

To me, this smacks of John Walsh's scenario -- the man from America's Most Wanted. I do not mean to detract from his now-obvious civic-consciousness, because he really does catch criminals who may not be caught otherwise. But, let's, for a minute, remember how he got to this point. Through is own negligence, he lost his son in a Wal-Mart and his son was subsequently abducted and killed. He was not paying attention to the one thing that should be the most important in his life! He was an unfit parent, in my estimation. Yet now he is heralded for the good he is doing. As I said, I do not wish to detract from the good he is doing, but I think the way he got to this point is incredibly haneous. You were too busy with your own life, uncaring, negligent, what have you , to watch your own child.... but now you are all better. You're the greatest -- and probably a millionare. And all it cost you was a kid. Heck, you can have more!

I know that is incredibly cynical, but it is the way I feel about people like that. It smacks of this wonderful individual who has just "confessed" to killing Jon-Bennet on order to get movie and book deals -- and that's what it was. He wanted his 15 minutes of fame. These people are messed up, and want to make as much money as possible from their faults. I understand I am comparing apples and oranges here. Blatant disregard for human life is paramountly different than simple neglect, but our society seems to feed on all of these aspects of the human persona. We make these people heroes, rather than to appreciate the heroes in daily life -- our teachers, mentors, fire fighters, police, parents, and others who do good and fight the good fight. In that vein, we are teaching our children the same thing. It's like silent approval.